Photocatalysis in microreactor

1. Photocatalysis in microreactor PhD. Student: Damon Rafieian Phone:+31615224059 Thesis advisor: Prof.IR.R.G.H Lammertink E-mail: d.rafieianboroujeni@utwente.com Supervisor: Prof.IR.R.G.H Lammertink URL: www.utwente.nl/tnw/sfi Research group: Soft matter fluidic and interfaces Research school: University of twente Supported by: Nanonextnl Period: Sep 2011-Sep 2015 • Introduction • Water scarcity in the world and new contaminants in water make the purification an important concern and technological priority for the coming decennia. Conventional method of water purification such as separation technology are not always sufficient when it comes to dissolved pharmaceutical and low molecular weight contaminants which are increasingly poured into water. For instance, based on the report conducted by the US Geological Survey, traces of antibiotics, hormones, contraceptives and steroids are found in 80 percent of the rivers and streams. • Research objectives • In the current project we aim to photocatalytically degrade organic contaminants employing a microreactor containing immobilized photocatalyst and build a numerical model which includes mass and photon transport as a useful tool for optimization. • Approach • In this work we designed and fabricated a PDMS-based photocatalyticmicroreactor (Fig.1) in which titanium dioxide is immobilized. • The photocatalyticdegradation of cortisone 21-acetate (CA) in this microreactor is studied systematically. • Result • Titanium dioxide with porous structure is deposited inside the PDMS-based microreactor. 100% degradation was achieved for a residence time of about 20 seconds. The reaction rate constant is numerically calculated (Fig.2) Fig.1 PDMS-based microreactor under UV-Light Fig.2 The degradation of CA vs. residence time